Scout Schultz was shot to death over the weekend. (Photo courtesy Ga. Tech Pride Alliance)

The president of the Georgia Tech LGBT student group who was shot to death by campus police on Sept. 16 after allegedly wielding a knife, left three suicide notes shortly before an altercation with police, according to newly released information by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The GBI, which is investigating the campus shooting incident, also disclosed in a statement released at 4 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 18, that it determined it was fourth year computer engineering student Scout Schultz, 21, who called 911 to alert campus police of a suspicious person carrying a knife and possibly a gun.

The statement says Schultz’s description of the suspicious person given in the 911 call matched Schultz’s own appearance.

“It has been determined that Schultz made the 911 call to Georgia Tech Police alerting them to a suspicious person on campus,” the latest GBI statement says.

“In the call Schultz describes the person as a white male, with long blonde hair, white-t-shirt & blue jeans who is possibly intoxicated, holding a knife and possibly armed with a gun on his hip,” the statement says.

“A total of 3 suicide notes were located in Schultz’s dormitory room,” says the statement, which adds, “No firearms were recovered from the scene.”

Schultz’s mother, Lynn Schultz, has said she believed the campus police officers who confronted Scout Schultz on campus late in the evening on Saturday, Sept. 16, should have made a greater attempt to diffuse the situation rather than use deadly force. She told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Scout Schultz was suffering from depression and had attempted suicide by hanging in the recent past.

Protests were held Monday night on campus leading to three arrests, according to a university statement. The AP reported that the protests turned violent and that a police vehicle was torched, prompting Georgia Tech to issue an alert warning students to shelter indoors.

The board of directors of Georgia Tech Pride Alliance, for which Schultz served as president for the past two years, released a statement saying the group was deeply saddened by Schultz’s death and hailing Schultz’s work and dedication on behalf of the organization as an inspiration.

The GBI said in its statement that the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Schultz’s shooting death remains ongoing.

Lou Chibbaro Jr. has reported on the LGBT civil rights movement and the LGBT community for more than 30 years, beginning as a freelance writer and later as a staff reporter and currently as Senior News Reporter for the Washington Blade. He has chronicled LGBT-related developments as they have touched on a wide range of social, religious, and governmental institutions, including the White House, Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, the military, local and national law enforcement agencies and the Catholic Church. Chibbaro has reported on LGBT issues and LGBT participation in local and national elections since 1976. He has covered the AIDS epidemic since it first surfaced in the early 1980s.
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